Free consultations -- are they working for you?

Hi,

I think free consultations are essential for coaching or for certain types of consulting. I suggest coming up with a few questions to ask so you lead the conversation. Examples:

"What is your situation now?" "How would your life (or business) be different after we work together?" "What have you done so far?" "What kind of pain are you experiencing because you are not able to reach your goals?"

and so on. When I've done career consulting (which is where I started), those questions worked well.

But for what I do -- strategic copywriting -- the free consultation is a waste of time. I have a low-cost "copy-diagnostic" where the fee can be deducted if you hire me for copy or consulting. That way you get some value.

I think the key is developing and sticking to an effective routine for that time. I find it sometimes difficult to stick to the 'free consult questions' because ultimately, each of us is trying to see if we connect on a personal level to see if there is a fit for working professionally.

For example, I have a long questionnaire for determining specifications of a website. It's perfect in the role for which it was created, but if I use that same form with a prospective client, they would walk away with a whole lot more than the worth of a free 30-minute consult -- which used to happened occasionally. Now, I have a much shorter Q&A for prospective clients than I use with existing clients.

It's tough to temper that desire to connect. I used to want to share my strategy process in the first meeting because amazing things happen during strategy meetings. Over time, I learned that if it's a good fit, we all connect in other ways before the strategy magic gets to kick in.

Also, I found that tempering my desire to help with my desire to get paid helped me find the motivation for developing a separate program for prospective clients.

Hope that helps. Kelly

As far as I am concerned if it turns out that the person doesn't need your services it is just another networking session :) Of course if time is getting on and you are not getting anything out of it then disappear, but I sometimes find that you might get a better job out of a 'failed' consultation. I think while it is good to have some clear boundaries the most important thing is your gut feel on how it is going.

Particularly if you offer a service based business (graphic design, web design, coaching, lawyer) i would say a free consult is almost vital.

Think about lawyers. They have done the free first visit forever. Why? I mean seriously, WHY!!! They are LAWYERS after all, why give it away?

Because they know for a fact you will never solve your legal problem in one meeting, ever.

They use the first meeting to find out what your pain is, where and what is your wound. Then they get out the salt and they rub that salt deep into the wound, they take that pain and make it ten times worse, so at the end of the first (free) meeting, you know you can not go a minute further without hiring them.

People will go further (and spend more) to avoid pain than they will to seek pleasure.

So what better way to find out your customers pain than to, well (this is almost too simple)...... ask them (at the first free meeting)

If you are a:

Graphic designer - Sign up now for you FREE brand health check! Are you projecting a professional image?

Business Coach - Sign up now for your Business health check! Are you doing as well as your competition?

Lawyer - Sign up now for your FREE intellectual property assessment! - Can some lowlife scumbag come along and stop you trading tomorrow by registering a trademark?

Web Designer - Sign up now for our FREE website health check! Are your customers passing through your site and buying from your competition?

You get the idea.

If you sell a service (in particualr) you are selling an intangible. Therefore it is harder to easily explain why someone needs you. But if you have a meeting, find what the pain is, rub salt in that pain, then often they will sign up on the dotted line more often than not at the end of the meeting (because of course you have 'asking for the sale' scripted into your "Free XXXXXX health check.......don't you???)

Bren

I rarely get contacted for a free consultation. Usually people have a pretty good idea of what I do and how it can help them when we first meet. I'm very clear about that and offer extensive portfolio for their reading pleasure. So maybe my web site IS the free consult.

However, if someone contacts me for a chat, I ask a lot of questions to determine their needs and wants, and match that up with what I do. There have been times that zeroed out. No worries, I'm booked solid.

In truth, I'm pretty selective. If I don't get a good vibe, I walk. The alternative isn't worth it. Since I'm indie, I don't have to work with dorks or people who don't have solid value for their customers. No writer can inject glory into a product. But we can feature whatever wonderment is there. So there better be some. A consult helps me sniff it out.

I give away a lot. In fact, when a client hires me to write for them, I usually give away a ton of marketing advice and tips and just charge for the writing. I feel a lot better charging for some newly created piece of serious work than just barfing up some fact or technique I know. It's really cool when one or two pearls of wisdom open up whole vistas for someone. Why should I charge for something that comes as easy as breathing? Heck, I was going to take that breath anyway. . .

I love to surprise clients with little gifts. And let me tell you, it builds good will like ice cream on skates. Costs nothing, pays back big time. I don't believe you can really give things away. Gifts boomerang -- when there's no expectation attached. It's a paradox.

So don't worry, be happy. Charge for the heavy lifting, for sure. Full ticket. And bonus them on the front end and here and there along the way. They'll love you for it.

And if they are cheap creeps and don't appreciate your grand expertise, move on. Life's too short to bother worrying about petty thieves.

Joseph

It gives me a chance to say... do I want to work with this person? so a qualifier.

It also works the other way.. Its a chance to build the relationship and you are basically saying you care, no obligation. etc.

As a customer, I tend to be skeptical of free consultations. In my experience, they usually amount to little more than long-form sales pitches. It's like when my parents would take us on those "free" timeshare vaction trips. We'd hang out by the pool while they would sit in some sales intensive all day. Thanks, but no thanks.

As a provider, I don't advertise free consults. But, like Joseph, I do give my customers a lot of freebies. And I never charge them for our first meeting, which I guess is the same as giving them a free consult. I just don't call it that.

My two cents...

I guess thats the key not calling it that.

As a life coach who gets most of my clients via the internet, the complimentary (as opposed to free) call is my number one "marketing tool." Since I convert about 90% of the callers, it definitely pays off for me.

Maybe the reason it does is because I do an actual coaching call. For me, this is the best way to discover whether or not we are a match. I do absolutely no selling. I don't even ask at the end of the call whether or not the person wants to continue coaching with me. I leave it completely up to the person. Most often just before I end the call and ask if they have any other questions, they will say, "Hey, wait a minute, so what do I do if I want to coach with you?" I have found this works very well for me.

Perhaps your free call or meeting is too much of a sales call. It may come across as do many coaches I know, as trying to sell the client, rather than help them understand how you can help through their experiencing this for themselves.

One reason I do this is because coaching is one of those things you have to experience (in my opinion) before you can understand what it will be for you. It's not yet well enough understood by the general public and in addition, I coach differently than others, so I really want potential clients to grasp the experience. The best way for them to do this is to try it.

Hope this helps.

Warmly,

Lynn www.bloomngrow.net

I did free consult for a few years. I found it was a good way to go broke. Started out with free hours and then went to 30 minutes. I found them to be worthless. I found many people who go from one free consult to another -- even coaches! Also found many new to business owners use these sessions that way, too.

Now, if someone finds me on the web, they complete a session form (pre=qualification form) and I do an hour session for $197. and tape it. They not only get a feel for how I could work with them, they get a full session on steroids.

For free sessions I have a script and stick with it. Free sessions are not consultations. They're more about getting to know you - you getting to know me sessions.

I do free for: 1) 15 minutes for my ezine subscribers. 2) 30 minutes when my power alliance partners send someone to me. 3) 15 minutes to someone who attend an event I'm a speaker at. 4) 15+ minutes for someone who truly wants to create a business and marketing plan and has questions.

What I've found is that my ideal client already knows what they want, and they only need 5-10 minutes to decide if I'm the right person for them to hire to boost their profits. If not, I'll provide them with resources to find someone who could help them.